I was at my in-law's house on Saturday and finally had the opportunity to spend a few hours with the Focal 706v speakers that I helped him get a few months ago. The room is still in transition from moving and the audio system will never be a primary concern, but they still sound nice for what they are. I dialed them in a bit for the primary listening position and finally got setup where they had a decent soundstage. When I arrived one of the speakers was pointed into the side of the newly aquired audio cabinet. Makes me shutter a bit, but I knew that they would never be setup the way I would choose. My father-in-law loves listening to music and they sound significantly better than what he had before no matter what he does with them. He's using my old Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver and it seems to limit the speakers in direct mode. I'm really glad that I upgraded my reciever as I don't feel like my Focals are limited in direct mode, but certainly know they have a lot more capability than I'm getting out of them.

After a few hours of enjoyment listening to the speakers setup fairly well, I was still extremely happy to come home to my Focal 836v speakers and Integra 50.1 receiver. Everything that I enjoy with my father-in-laws system just get's better with mine.

I think the best way to make your system sound better is to spend some time listening to one that isn't an equal and your appreciation will grow.

I agree , I have many friends with lesser systems than mine , and I enjoy listening to them , But when I spent several days consecutively listing to one of them the weaknesses begin to show . Over the years I've cobbled together a system worth over $100000. It's nice to see , hear , that all that time and mula was not wasted . MAX

It sounds like you could easily stop by my house and go home quite happy with your system.

The difference between my approx. 5k system and my father-in-laws approx 1.5k is really easy to hear. I probably wouldn't spend a lot more if it literally took hours or days of listening to notice the systems "problems."

I guess I should be more careful the way I word things , even on a one paragraph blog . The friends system I was referring to is worth about $35000. not that this is important . I do here many deficency's right away but it wasn't until I listened for much longer that I became less comfortable with the sound . It's much the same when I install my back up amp, A Mark Levinson#38 preamp . the sound stage shrinks the detail is less , I could go on and on , but I enjoy listing to it none the less . After a few days I'm ready to go back . And then I'm satisfied the money I spent , was well spent . MAX